Fake banknote misery

A RECORD number of fake Scottish banknotes valued at £2.7million were removed from circulation last year. The Committee of Scottish Bankers figures show close to 130,000 counterfeit bills were pulled from use, with the denominations running from £1 to £100.

Over the past five years the amount of dummy cash discovered and destroyed has more than trebled. (Image: GETTY)

Over the past five years the amount of dummy cash discovered and destroyed has more than trebled, going from just under 40,000 in 2012 to 128,367 in 2017.

The value has also shot up from around half-a-million pounds to last year’s record figure.

But the percentage of sham money compared to genuine notes remains minute and has actually dropped year on year.

Last night the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said it was a concern how sophisticated some of the counterfeits were.

Colin Borland, of FSB Scotland, added: “We live in a cash society relying on tourism and the hospitality industry and during a summer like this pubs and such like are heaving with people so it can become too busy to stay vigilant.

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“No matter what technologies are introduced in preventing counterfeiting, criminals also have access to technology and they are trying to stay one step ahead of the game to make money.

“For a business collecting takings at the end of the day, fake bills are a problem. They have no value but you have to make sure they are out of circulation and there is no reimbursement from the banks.

“Clearly it’s a concern that the numbers and values are going up and we’d urge our members to take advantage of all the available anti-counterfeit measures and familiarise themselves with the banknotes in circulation.”

The National Crime Agency said that incidences of counterfeiting remain low compared to the overall amount of cash in circulation.

Its annual strategic assessment of serious and organised crime states: “Organised crime groups based in the UK continue to be involved in the counterfeiting of Bank of England £20 notes. Both Scottish and Northern Irish notes have also been targeted.

“Bank of England notes are most at risk in terms of the total volume of counterfeits.

“Scottish and Northern Irish notes are most at risk in terms of vulnerability and relative volume.”

The document adds the new style £1 coin and polymer notes have increased security features, and continues: “Large organised networks will continue to target UK victims, constantly adapting or changing their methodologies to deceive their victims.”

Knowingly using or passing on a forged banknote is a crime and can earn a custodial sentence and a hefty penalty.

The Federation of Small Businesses said it was concerning how sophisticated the counterfeits were. (Image: GETTY)

A Home Office report has estimated organised fraud costs the UK economy close to £9billion, while a conservative estimate for the social and economic cost of serious organised crime (SOC) runs at least to £24billion.

For the Scottish economy, SOC, of which counterfeiting is part, costs around £2billion a year.

In addition to the Scots counterfeit banknotes, Bank of England said it removed around 469,000 fake bills from circulation to the tune of £10million.

Banks advise customers to take dummy cash to the police if they know where it came from or hand it over to the branch of the bank of issue.